DB - Deutsche Bahn [2]Germany

Commitments of Deutsche Bahn to become an eco-pioneer

Climate protection is a key element of Deutsche Bahn’s success

As an international provider of mobility and logistics services and one of Germany’s largest employers, the DB Group has a special responsibility to its customers, employees, society and the environment. To embrace this responsibility, DB has set out to become a profitable market leader, one of Germany’s top ten employers and an eco-pioneer by 2020 as part of its DB2020 strategy. On its mission to become an eco-pioneer, it has committed itself to many different areas through a wide range of measures, aimed in particular at reducing its CO2 emissions.

Ambitious climate protection goals

DB has already cut specific CO2 emissions from rail traffic in Germany by about 60 per cent since 1990. But since DB also offers road, air and ocean transports, it has set a global Group target. It aims to reduce its specific Group-wide CO2 emissions by 20 per cent of the 2006 levels by the year 2020. It has already reached this target six years earlier, with 22.7 per cent less specific CO2 emissions in 2014. A variety of measures have been realized, such as modernizing the company fleet and further increasing the percentage of renewable energy sources in the traction current mix. In 2014, the share of CO2-free energy already amounted to 39.6 per cent, so that the DB Group target of increasing that share to 35 per cent by 2020 has also been achieved ahead of time. DB has set itself the goal of achieving rail transport that is CO2-free and powered entirely by renewable energy sources by 2050. DB already offers many customers travel and transport services with 100 per cent renewable energy sources.

Travelling with 100 % green energy

Since April 2013, BahnCard and fixed-route season ticket holders as well as bahn.corporate customers have automatically travelled with 100 % green energy on DB long-distance trains. As green energy meanwhile makes up 75% of total current consumption, DB long-distance trains significantly outperform all other transport modes in this respect. On average, customers travelling inside Germany generate only 11 g CO₂ per person and kilometre. Even customers who are not using one of the CO₂-free offers can still travel without generating carbon emissions by purchasing an “Umwelt-Plus”-Ticket for a surcharge of EUR 1. Thanks to the use of renewable energy, the Deutsche Bahn long-distance sector improved its carbon footprint by more than 1,600,000 tons of CO2 in 2014.